"Huh. What can I say? I was out shopping." Jake replied. Then he
winked at me.

I gasped. "What did you get me?" I cried, grabbing the front of
his shirt. He smiled, tilted his head sideways and took out
something from his pocket. A bunch of keys!

I took them and examined them closely. Jake put his arm around me
and guided me out of the house. I gasped again. Standing there
was a pointy-looking multi-colored car. It looked really cool but
cheap too. I just stood there staring at it.

"Do you like it?" Jake asked me "It's called the Acidzoomer. Cool
name, huh? I got it on my way home. And I'm surprised at its
price too! It's really fast and reliable and it didn't cost very
much too!"

Jake looked very proud of that car. Mum came out of the house and
looked very happy too. But not me! I could feel tears in my eyes.
I had told all my friends I would get a yellow BMW. Everyone in
high school has a BMW! My lip trembled and I started crying. I
threw the keys on the ground and without stopping, ran into my
room. There, I sat and cried.

******

I woke up late at night and checked the time. It was 2:25 am. I
sat up and sighed. I felt mean for not liking the car Jake had
got me. If Jake wasn't around, I wouldn't have even had that car!
Jake isn't really my brother. He's my step-brother and Mum's
step-son. He earns for us and if he wasn't around, we wouldn't be
able to afford even a single meal.

I got up slowly and peeked out of the window. Outside, I could
see the Acidzoomer standing in the dark. And then I noticed
movement inside the car. I gasped and ran outside to the car.
From a distance, I could see at least five people in the car. I
rushed forward and saw someone stepped out. It was Jake.

"Jake?" I said relieved.

He seemed shocked to see me "Oh hey." He replied, nervously.
"What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" I snapped back.

"I was just showing Mother the car." He said. I tilted my head
and saw Mum sitting on the passenger's seat. I checked the back
seats but they were empty.

"What's the matter?" Jake asked me.

"I…I…..I thought I saw people in the backseat." I replied. I
stepped away.

"Well, it's a very, very nice car. You should like it, Emily,
dear. I think it's wonderful." Mum said stepping out of the car.
Then she walked inside the house, leaving me and Jake alone.

"Uh….. Jake?" I stammered "I wanted to apologize for my behavior
before. It's just that everyone have BMWs or Mercedes'…….so…..I
just overreacted. This is a great car."

Jake stared straight into my eyes. "I know." He replied, softly.
Then he stepped forward and handed me the car keys. "Why don't
you try it out? Give it a run." Jake whispered in my ear.

I gave him a sly smile. He winked in reply. I got into the car.
It was rather comfy inside. I started the engine.

"Don't tell Mum!" I called out and drove away. In the rearview
mirror, I saw Jake wave. I drove around the neighborhood. And
slowly, I lost control and track of time. Finally, I decided I
should go home now. As I turned the car towards home, the car
suddenly started zooming in another direction.

"What the!" I cried out and tried to stop the car but it wouldn't
stop! It seemed as if the car was driving on its own! It drove me
to a strange field. I looked around. Suddenly from behind, I hand
grabbed my shoulder. I screamed. I turned around saw at least
four people sitting on the backseat. They looked like normal
people but they had blank, red eyes.

"Keep driving." A man said. "Keep on driving. Soon you will be
one of us."

"Yes," Said another woman. "Join us."

"Join us. Join us. Join us." All of them suddenly started
chanting.

"What?" I cried out "No!"

But they grabbed me. I screamed and ran out of the car. They
continued to chant "Join us. Join us." Some of them reached out
and grabbed my hand and they started pulling me inside.

"No!" I cried "No! Let me go!" I picked up a rock and threw it at
them, but it missed them and hit the car instead. Inside, the
zombie-like people cried out with pain.

That's when I realized. I need to destroy the car to destroy
them! So I picked up one big rock and hit the car as hard as
possible. They screamed again. For half an hour, I continued to
hit the car until it was a wreck and the people inside it had
disappeared. Sweating, I ran back home. When I came back, Jake
was standing on the porch.

"Oh, Jake!" I cried, hugging him.

"Hey! What happened?" Mum said, stepping out of the house. She
had probably heard me.

I told them both the whole story and they listened quietly.

"So the Acidzoomer is destroyed?" Jake asked me.

I nodded in reply. Jake put an arm around me and guided me to the
backside of the house.

"That's okay." He murmured "I got three more!"

I gasped. Every car was filled with the zombie-like people, each
other of them chanting "Join us".

"Let's all go for a drive." Mum said. Her eyes had turned red and
blank and she was grinning, evilly.